Clear Lake Texas Real Estate – Brookwood Subdivision Neighborhood Statistics

Clear Lake Texas Real Estate – Brookwood Subdivision Neighborhood Statistics

 

Brookwood in Clear Lake has 904 single family homes with an average sales price this first quarter of 2009 of $259,400.  The average dollar per square foot is down slightly this year by $1.85 representing a 2% drop.  Bear in mind this reflects only a 3 month time span.

 

Also the average home sold in Brookwood was 3,004 square feet as compared to 2,943 last year.  Smaller homes typically sell for more in terms of dollar per square foot.  I did not factor in one or two story for either year. This could have a pronounced effect as well.

 

	# Homes	Avg Sales	Avg Days	Avg Price	% Change
	Sold	Price	On Market	Per Ft.
Q1 of 2008	4	$259,575.00	95	$      88.20
Q1 of 2009	5	$259,400.00	59	$86.35	N/A

 

The homes in the  Brookwood subdivision were built by Perry Homes, David Weekley Homes and Village Builders.  The average lot size is just right at 10,000 feet with the average home built there of 3,000 feet.   Homes range from 3 bedrooms and 2 baths to larger 5 bedrooms and 3 and one half baths.

 

Brookwood homes typically have either a 2 car garage or in some cases a 3.  It’s not uncommon to find extended garages there as well.  Some with 5 or 10’ extensions.  One of the big attractions to Brookwood is the woodedness of the community.  Is that a word?  It’s got trees, alright?!  Seriously though, our area is lacking in trees.  Seems you have to go to Kingwood or the Woodlands to find those.

 

Homes were built from 1988 to 1994.  

This information is straight out of the Houston MLS.  Also keep in mind that 3 months is a short period of time. 

Families really tend to stay in their Brookwood Homes longer than normal.  The average for Clear Lake is around 6.5% meaning six out of every 100 homes are sold each year. Brookwood homeowners stay even longer.  Over the last 3 years, the average turn has been 3.7%.

Also see Brookwood homes 14 year price trend

Find out what your Brookwood home is worth

Currently there is a 5.8 month inventory of Brookwood homes for sale. 

 

 

 

Clear Lake Texas Real Estate – Bay Knoll Statistics

Clear Lake Texas Real Estate – Bay Knoll Subdivision Neighborhood Statistics 

Bay Knoll in Clear Lake has 660 single family homes built from 1986 to 1989 with an average sales price of $181,633 this first quarter of 2009.  Built by four builders, Ryland Homes, Village Builders, Weekly Homes and Brighton, these homes range from about 2,000 feet to over 3,000.<p>

 

 

	# Homes	Avg Sales	Avg Days	Avg Price	% Change
	Sold	Price	On Market	Per Ft.
Q1 of 2008	4	$180,156.00	25	$      71.38
Q1 of 2009	3	$181,633.00	36	$      74.92	4.9%

 

Looking at the figures, it’s easy to think that my calculations are off since the average sales prices are extremely are less than 1% different.  The reason for the higher dollar per foot prices in 2009 stems mainly from smaller homes being sold during that time frame.  The average square footage of homes sold in 2009 was 2,394 compared to 2,524 that same time last year.

This information is straight out of the Houston MLS.  Also keep in mind that 3 months is a short period of time.

One of the statistics we’ve heard for years is that people tend to move every 5-7 years. Not in Clear Lake!  Realtors in other parts of the country have reported 15-20% turnover in their communities.  We Texans (there I gave it away, yes I was born and raised right here in Houston) tend to stay in our homes a very long time.

Families really tend to stay in their Bay Knoll homes longer than normal. The average turnover for Clear Lake real estate is about 6.5% meaning that six out of every 100 homes are sold each year. Bay Knoll homeowners stay even longer; less than 4% of the homes in Bay Knoll sell each year.

Also see Bay Knoll House Prices 10 Year Price Trend

Thinking about selling your Bay Knoll Home?

Currently there is a 7 month inventory of Bay Knoll homes for sale. 

 

 

Clear Lake Texas Real Estate – New Listing in Bay Glen Neighborhood

Bay Glen Homes

There’s a new kid in town.

Wouldn’t you know it. Just as I posted about market activity in the Bay Glen neighborhood in Clear Lake City, another new listing becomes available.

 And it’s a beauty.

I’m not the listing agent but she sure must be proud. This home has tons of updates. I’ll be very surprised if it’s not snapped up this week.  Built by Brighton Homes in 1987, it features 4 bedrooms, 2 and one half baths and an upstairs gameroom.

Here are a list of updates:

 
• Porcelain Tile on first level
• Harwood entrance in foyer
• Maple Hardwood stairs & on 2nd level
• Granite countertops in kitchen
• Solar screens on all windows
• Spacious covered deck (great for those springtime barbeques!
• Hardiplank siding in July of 2006
• A/C & Furnace replaced in 2005
• Roof replaced in 2004 (Makes for a happy insurance carrier!)
• Dishwasher 2008
• Fresh interior paint

This home is beautifully landscaped. Be sure and check out the backyard. You can see this Bay Glen home in it’s entirety. If you like what you see, give me a ring and we’ll go take a look this weekend.

Considering selling your Bay Glen home?  Get a free Bay Glen House Prices report.

Houston Texas Real Estate – the $8,000 Tax Credit

Expanded Tax Break Available for 2009 First-Time Homebuyers 

WASHINGTON — The Internal Revenue Service announced today that taxpayers who qualify for the first-time homebuyer credit and purchase a home this year before Dec. 1 have a special option available for claiming the tax credit either on their 2008 tax returns due April 15 or on their 2009 tax returns next year.

Qualifying taxpayers who buy a home this year before Dec. 1 can get up to $8,000, or $4,000 for married filing separately.  See full article…

Houston Texas Real Estate – Tax appraisal versus the Sold Price what’s the REAL deal?

 

 

Tax appraisal versus the Sold Price what’s the REAL deal?

 

I was asked this question today.  This is a great question and asked by many buyers.  The value that the county tax assessor does not reflect the selling price of that home.  Tax assessors do not go into the property to see any improvements (or lack thereof), and in some cases square footages are listed incorrectly.

 

Now then, this is NOT a bash against the good folks at the county tax office.  I’m just stating what I see.  Assessed values can be all over the map (no pun intended) as shown in the following chart.  These are homes that sold November 1^st, 2008 in the Bay Glen subdivision of Clear Lake.

 

Address	Closed Date	Adjusted Sold	Assessed
		Price	Value
1306 Chestnut Springs	11/19/2008	$        133,763.00	$  133,190.00
1247 Sandy Plains	1/14/2009	$        148,000.00	$  149,494.00
14722 Cobre Valley Dr.	1/30/2009	$        156,500.00	$  155,589.00
14330 Arborcrest	1/16/2009	$        165,000.00	$  156,631.00
14806 Flowerwood	11/26/2008	$        161,990.00	$  167,700.00
14211 Leafy Elm	1/13/2009	$        170,000.00	$  167,807.00
14718 Sun Harbor	1/30/2009	$        175,475.00	$  169,900.00
1207 Sandy Plains	11/21/2008	$        174,000.00	$  154,500.00
1522 Hillside Elm	11/13/2008	$        182,000.00	$  155,000.00
1223 Mabry Mill		$        163,000.00	$  155,755.00

 

 

It’s a good idea to keep an eye on your assessment as it could be off.  Square footages can be off.  I’ve seen it both ways.  Some homeowners have paid for years, based on square footages that were off as much as 200 square feet.  Now that’s fine, if they have underestimated.  But if they have overestimated your footage, you’re paying for it.

 

Buyers need to be careful when looking at property taxes listed in the MLS listings.  I always suggest that they not get too excited when they see a home with taxes listed that are significantly lower than everything else in the neighborhood.  On more than one occasion properties have crossed my desk where the taxes listed did NOT include the school taxes!  And by all appearances, it’s “WOW!  This is a GREAT tax rate.”

 

Lesson: Don’t sign an offer just because you see low taxes on an MLS printout- investigate it first.

 

When a Realtor inputs the listing into the Houston MLS, the listing “auto populates” the tax information.  In other words, the system goes to the county tax office records and imports that info into the MLS.  Ok, granted I’m not “techie,” but you get the idea.  So if that information is incorrect on the tax records, it is going to be incorrect on the MLS.

 

Check the facts.

 

 

 

Tax appraisal versus the Sold Price what’s the REAL deal?

 

I was asked this question today.  This is a great question and asked by many buyers.  The value that the county tax assessor does not reflect the selling price of that home.  Tax assessors do not go into the property to see any improvements (or lack thereof), and in some cases square footages are listed incorrectly.

 

Now then, this is NOT a bash against the good folks at the county tax office.  I’m just stating what I see.  Assessed values can be all over the map (no pun intended) as shown in the following chart.  These are homes that sold November 1^st, 2008 in the Bay Glen subdivision of Clear Lake.

 

Address	Closed Date	Adjusted Sold	Assessed	% Sold
		Price	Value	Price to
				Assessed Value
1306 Chestnut Springs	11/19/2008	$        133,763.00	$  133,190.00	99.6%
1247 Sandy Plains	1/14/2009	$        148,000.00	$  149,494.00	101.0%
14722 Cobre Valley Dr.	1/30/2009	$        156,500.00	$  155,589.00	99.4%
14330 Arborcrest	1/16/2009	$        165,000.00	$  156,631.00	94.9%
14806 Flowerwood	11/26/2008	$        161,990.00	$  167,700.00	103.5%
14211 Leafy Elm	1/13/2009	$        170,000.00	$  167,807.00	98.7%
14718 Sun Harbor	1/30/2009	$        175,475.00	$  169,900.00	96.8%
1207 Sandy Plains	11/21/2008	$        174,000.00	$  154,500.00	88.8%
1522 Hillside Elm	11/13/2008	$        182,000.00	$  155,000.00	85.2%
1223 Mabry Mill		$        163,000.00	$  155,755.00	95.6%

 

 

It’s a good idea to keep an eye on your assessment as it could be off.  Square footages can be off.  I’ve seen it both ways.  Some homeowners have paid for years, based on square footages that were off as much as 200 square feet.  Now that’s fine, if they have underestimated.  But if they have overestimated your footage, you’re paying for it.

 

Buyers need to be careful when looking at property taxes listed in the MLS listings.  I always suggest that they not get too excited when they see a home with taxes listed that are significantly lower than everything else in the neighborhood.  On more than one occasion properties have crossed my desk where the taxes listed did NOT include the school taxes!  And by all appearances, it’s “WOW!  This is a GREAT tax rate.”

 

Lesson: Don’t sign an offer just because you see low taxes on an MLS printout- investigate it first.

 

When a Realtor inputs the listing into the Houston MLS, the listing “auto populates” the tax information.  In other words, the system goes to the county tax office records and imports that info into the MLS.  Ok, granted I’m not “techie,” but you get the idea.  So if that information is incorrect on the tax records, it is going to be incorrect on the MLS.

 

Check the facts.

 

 

 

 

 

Tax appraisal versus the Sold Price what’s the REAL deal?

 

I was asked this question today.  This is a great question and asked by many buyers.  The value that the county tax assessor does not reflect the selling price of that home.  Tax assessors do not go into the property to see any improvements (or lack thereof), and in some cases square footages are listed incorrectly.

 

Now then, this is NOT a bash against the good folks at the county tax office.  I’m just stating what I see.  Assessed values can be all over the map (no pun intended) as shown in the following chart.  These are homes that sold November 1^st, 2008 in the Bay Glen subdivision of Clear Lake.

 

Address	Closed Date	Adjusted Sold	Assessed	% Sold
		Price	Value	Price to
				Assessed Value
1306 Chestnut Springs	11/19/2008	$        133,763.00	$  133,190.00	99.6%
1247 Sandy Plains	1/14/2009	$        148,000.00	$  149,494.00	101.0%
14722 Cobre Valley Dr.	1/30/2009	$        156,500.00	$  155,589.00	99.4%
14330 Arborcrest	1/16/2009	$        165,000.00	$  156,631.00	94.9%
14806 Flowerwood	11/26/2008	$        161,990.00	$  167,700.00	103.5%
14211 Leafy Elm	1/13/2009	$        170,000.00	$  167,807.00	98.7%
14718 Sun Harbor	1/30/2009	$        175,475.00	$  169,900.00	96.8%
1207 Sandy Plains	11/21/2008	$        174,000.00	$  154,500.00	88.8%
1522 Hillside Elm	11/13/2008	$        182,000.00	$  155,000.00	85.2%
1223 Mabry Mill		$        163,000.00	$  155,755.00	95.6%

 

 

It’s a good idea to keep an eye on your assessment as it could be off.  Square footages can be off.  I’ve seen it both ways.  Some homeowners have paid for years, based on square footages that were off as much as 200 square feet.  Now that’s fine, if they have underestimated.  But if they have overestimated your footage, you’re paying for it.

 

Buyers need to be careful when looking at property taxes listed in the MLS listings.  I always suggest that they not get too excited when they see a home with taxes listed that are significantly lower than everything else in the neighborhood.  On more than one occasion properties have crossed my desk where the taxes listed did NOT include the school taxes!  And by all appearances, it’s “WOW!  This is a GREAT tax rate.”

 

Lesson: Don’t sign an offer just because you see low taxes on an MLS printout- investigate it first.

 

When a Realtor inputs the listing into the Houston MLS, the listing “auto populates” the tax information.  In other words, the system goes to the county tax office records and imports that info into the MLS.  Ok, granted I’m not “techie,” but you get the idea.  So if that information is incorrect on the tax records, it is going to be incorrect on the MLS.

 

Check the facts.

 

 

Clear Lake Texas Real Estate – Clear Lake Foreclosures

Not a day goes by that someone doesn’t ask me about foreclosures in the Clear Lake area.  With news from the national media, foreclosures are certainly a hot topic.

It’s important to remember; all markets are LOCAL.

In the last quarter of 2008, of the 568 single family homes sold in the Clear Lake area, 56 were foreclosure sales according to Houston MLS statistics.  This represents 10% of total home sales.  Here’s what I am using for the Clear Lake area:

Clear Lake City
Clear Lake Shores
Friendswood
Kemah
League City
Nassau Bay
Seabrook
Taylor Lake Village
Webster

I didn’t compare the town home or condo market but I suspect it would be about the same ratios.  Condo and town home sales typically represent about 10-11% of our total sales here as we’re mostly a community made up of single family homes.

Currently there are 32 clear lake area foreclosures for sale representing just over 3% of the total homes for sale right now.  Will that number go up?  I’m sure of it.  Where will it end?  I’m not sure.  With patience, there are some good deals out there- you just can’t be in a hurry.  A couple months ago, I helped my good friends Stan and Amee purchase a property in Pearland and pick up a conservative $15,000 in equity.  Not a bad return for a first home.

If you’re curious about a specific area, just write me at john@searchclearlake.com and I’ll share those numbers with you.  Or, you can sign up for our daily “hotlist” at www.ClearLakeHomeSearch.com .

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Houston Housing Market Still Ahead of Most of the Nation

October 2008 Sales

Uncertainty Over National Economy And Lingering Effects Of Hurricane Ike Cool Houston’s Real Estate Market In October

Despite an ongoing slowdown in property sales, Houston still outperforms most other U.S. markets

HOUSTON — (Nov. 18, 2008) — The Houston housing market continued to feel the effects of the troubled national economy in October and residual business interruptions caused by Hurricane Ike. New monthly data released by the Houston Association of REALTORS® (HAR) reflects improvement from market performance in September, when Ike derailed thousands of real estate transactions. However, the number of property sales across the greater Houston area declined last month when compared to October 2007, with sales of single-family homes down 20.1 percent. Read More…

Pine Brook Neighborhood Statistics – Clear Lake TX

Pine Brook Neighborhood – Clear Lake Texas

There seems to be a lot of speculation going on about real estate prices right now and it’s important to remember- real estate markets are local. It is easy to get caught up in what the media would have you to believe and that is, all real estate is in proverbial toilet. We’ve got the national economy, the local one and hurricane Ike thrown in for good measure.

Let’s look at the Pine Brook neighborhood…

In the Pine Brook neighborhood, there have been a total of 49 homes closed this year with an average sales price of $347,407 and an average number days on market of 67. Last year during that same time period, the average sale price was $352,998 while taking about 63 days to sell.

Through August of this year, there were 43 sales and from September 1st through today, there have been 6 sales. In contrast there were 48 sales prior to Sept 1 last year. The total number of sales in the Pine Brook neighborhood were down this year but it does not appear to be from the recent hurricane. In September and October of last year there were 7 sales while this year, there were 6- so not much difference there.

Buyers have the choice between 11 homes now in Pine Brook a fairly low number in comparison to the “pre Ike” market. Beside these homes, there are 5 homes under contract and scheduled to close before the end of the year.

With the inventory existing and based on homes that are being absorbed (sold), there are 2.3 months of inventory meaning if nothing new came on the market in Pine Brook , all homes currently for sale would be sold.

Prices in the Pine Brook neighborhood are down slightly from last year at 1.58% while the average number of days on the market remains strong.

I think it’s interesting to note also that we are not in a foreclosure crisis here in Clear Lake. As of today, there are 154 single family homes for sale in Clear Lake and 4 of those are foreclosures. It’s quite challenging to educate out of state consumers who may have had to sell at a loss that they won’t gain it back here.

Again, real estate is local…

If you own a home in Pine Brook and want more information, you can check out our free Pine Brook House Prices Report.

Or if you’re looking for another home in the area, you can search all the homes for sale in the Clear Lake area.

If you’d like to see numbers on your neighborhood, just drop me an email at john@searchclearlake.com and I’ll post it up here.